Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for misguided. Search instead for unmisguided.
Synonyms

misguided

American  
[mis-gahy-did] / mɪsˈgaɪ dɪd /

adjective

  1. misled; mistaken.

    Their naive actions were a misguided attempt to help poor people.
misguided British  
/ ˌmɪsˈɡaɪdɪd /

adjective

  1. foolish or unreasonable, esp in action or behaviour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • misguidedly adverb
  • misguidedness noun
  • unmisguided adjective
  • unmisguidedly adverb

Etymology

Origin of misguided

First recorded in 1480–90; misguide + -ed 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

For a while, they thought he was principled if misguided, and not the best at explaining himself.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Seth Lazar, a philosophy professor at the Australian National University, says the new measures were "extremely misguided, both as a matter of technological practice and from the perspective of liberal values".

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

But the hurtling pace of the cast, combined with some misguided blocking that has characters speaking at points with their backs to the audience, makes comprehension more difficult than necessary.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

“A party plaintiff’s misguided belief or guileless action in relying on a statement on which no reasonable person would rely is not justifiable reliance,” according to Vondran Legal, which has offices in California and Arizona.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026

The prosecutor argued that Herbert was not just tragically misguided and reckless; he was evil.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.